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| Alston's Ascension from the Asphalt Part II By Ben Couch – NJNETS.com December 11, 2009 |
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NOTE: This feature is reprinted from Nets All Access, the official game night program of Nets Basketball. If you're just joining us on Rafer Alston's journey, which began on the playgrounds of Queens and earned him a shoe deal without an NBA contract, you can catch up by going back and reading Alston's Ascension, Part I. Alston signed with Milwaukee in the fall of 1999, but struggled through three seasons there and one in Toronto, finally breaking through as a part-time starter on the 2003-04 Miami Heat. That team opened the season 0-7 (and 5-15) before finishing on a tear and making the playoffs with a 42-40 record. Helming a second-round squad showcased Alston’s then-latent ability to play the NBA game, and earned him a six-year contract with the Raptors. “Rafer could always play two ways, both games,” Naclerio says. “He always could. the thing was, ‘How much do you take the streetball into the NBA game?’ And then when you’re playing streetball: ‘How many times do you take the NBA in?’ There were some streetball games Rafer wanted to win. I remember there was one game he really wanted to win, and he didn’t pull the ‘Skip to my Lou’ – he played basic screen-and-roll. The fans were like, ‘What?’ He wanted it, and he got 38 that game.” Though he was traded from Toronto to Houston after a single tumultuous season, Alston settled into a groove as the Rockets’ starting point guard, helming back-to-back 50-win teams. When All-Star Jameer Nelson went down with a shoulder injury last season, they targeted Alston in a three-way deal with Memphis, and the veteran responded by guiding them to the NBA Finals. Several years removed from any dramatics, Alston realized his expiring contract and Nelson’s impending return meant a likely address change after the season. Moved to the Nets in the trade that sent Vince Carter to Orlando, Alston accepted that he’d be backing up Devin Harris, and counted on to set a solid example for a young, developing team. He’s embraced the role, lauded by Nets President Rod Thorn for his professionalism and commitment to teaching. “All of it’s a learning experience, and it helped mold me into who I am now,” Alston says. “A lot of people go through different paths, and the path I’ve taken has helped me not only in basketball but helped me grow in life. You’re able to deal with things that come your way and things that you put yourself through and keep moving on. The object is to learn from it and don’t make the same mistakes.” Alston was pressed into starting duty when Harris strained his groin in the second game of the season, and averaged 11.2 points and 5.1 assists in 13 games (9.9 PPG and 4.3 APG in 20 games overall). With Harris and last year’s backup, (Keyon Dooling) on the shelf, Alston played 36.5 minutes a game, being spelled only by rookie swingman Terrence Williams. That per-game average was Alston’s highest in three seasons, and he topped 40 minutes six times with nary a complaint about the wear.
Harris’ strained groin was merely one part of an early-season injury onslaught, and the Nets were down to nine healthy bodies by November 6th, when they headed to Philadelphia to take on the Five players were injured, and another had just contracted the H1N1 virus, with the official diagnosis to come the next day. Philadelphia entered the game 3-2; the Nets were winless in six. Pregame, the visitor’s locker room had cleared out save for Courtney Lee – seated at his locker, flipping through his phone – and Alston, who was deciding upon a selection from the fruit spread. As Alston picked up and began peeling an orange, crossing the room toward his cushioned space, Lee set down his phone and looked up. With no self-pity in his voice, only resignation, the second-year player picked Alston’s brain, seeking something he could hold onto in a bleak situation. “What are we gonna do today, Skip?” Lee asked. “Just play hard,” Alston said. “For 48 minutes. That’s all you can do.”
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